Parallel
by stubadingdong
Summary: Movie Night continues...


TITLE: Parallel  
  
AUTHOR: stub&Joe  
  
DATE: 3-5-04  
  
RATING: PG  
  
DISCLAIMER: Not ours. They're Paramount's property.  
  
SUMMARY: The next sugary installment of the Movie Night Series. Let's say this takes place sometime before Hatchery.  
  
WARNING: This one might be uncharacteristically cheesy. It just needed to come out.  
  
"Got any plans tonight, Sub-Commander?" asked Trip Tucker. He had sidled up next to her and asked the question in a conspiratorial fashion.  
  
Sub-Commander T'Pol raised an eyebrow but did not look at him. She kept her eyes on the monitor in front of her. "Perhaps, what did you have in mind?" she said, rather coyly in his opinion.  
  
Trip dipped his head and hid a smile. He nodded and pretended to look at the readouts before him. "I've got a special presentation in my quarters, if you're interested."  
  
With this, T'Pol did look at him. Her other eyebrow joined the first one in the center of her forehead.  
  
"If that look means what I think it means, it's not what you think."  
  
T'Pol merely cocked her head to the side.  
  
"Movie night," Trip clarified with an exasperated sigh.  
  
The Vulcan turned back to her monitor. "It isn't Tuesday."  
  
Trip's eyes lit up. "Bonus movie night! That's why it's called a 'special presentation.' Besides, I've chosen one of my favorite guilty pleasure films," Trip replied. He cast a sidelong glance at T'Pol. "Movie starts at 2030 tonight...if you'd like to grace me with your presence."  
  
"We'll see..." was all the commitment she gave.  
  
* * *  
  
Trip set up a makeshift couch using his bunk and hooked up his monitor for easy viewing. He pulled up his comfy green chair, in case T'Pol didn't want to sit next to him. Assuming T'Pol even showed up. It was 2025 and no sign of her.  
  
The clocked ticked quietly and Trip found himself pacing across his floor. He silently cursed himself. Maybe she wasn't going to show. Maybe he had overestimated their relationship. Maybe a 'special presentation' was out of line. Maybe, Trip thought with a wave of horror, T'Pol didn't like these movie nights he kept making her endure.  
  
The chime on his door induced a sigh of relief. Trip never should have doubted her. Whether she showed up for the movie or for the company, he wasn't sure, but he was happy nonetheless. He was smiling when he called out for her to enter and it broadened when she strode into his quarters.  
  
"Evenin'," said Trip, almost shyly.  
  
"Good evening," T'Pol responded in kind. Her eyes darted about the room and settled back on his. An eyebrow went up.  
  
Tearing his eyes away from her, Trip gestured grandly to his carefully thought out seating arrangements. "I made up the bed into a couch...or you can have the chair if you want. It's a long movie."  
  
T'Pol studied her choices for a moment. "Where will you sit?" she asked.  
  
"Wherever." Lifting his shoulder in a casual shrug, Trip replied softly, "Next to you, I hope."  
  
Trip was almost giddy when T'Pol acquiesced to his suggestion of sitting side by side. They sat on the bed with their backs propped up against the wall, feet stretched out before them. Trip was careful not to invade her personal space initially, but as the movie wore on, he became more and more engrossed in the film. He barely noticed that they'd shifted closer together.  
  
By the halfway point, Trip had hunkered down and curled up next to T'Pol. His head rested in her lap. She said nothing but had shifted slightly to make it more comfortable for both of them. It was such a tragic tale and the Chief Engineer was riveted, as he always was when he watched this movie. He was vaguely aware of a hand absently rubbing across his back. By the time Jack Dawson sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic, Trip finally felt the hand running soothingly through his hair. He was grateful for it. He was fighting back the tears that always snuck up on him at this part.  
  
As his head lay in T'Pol's lap, Trip realized how much Rose reminded him of T'Pol. His fingers drew absent designs on her leg as the elderly Rose passed away quietly in her sleep. He sat up and stretched and turned his attention to T'Pol. She appeared lost in thought. Trip nudged her with his shoulder.  
  
"What'd you think?" he asked softly.  
  
She turned her brown eyes on him. "Compelling," she said simply. "And quite tragic."  
  
"Yeah. I used to like it for the special effects but after seeing it a number of times, I was struck by how touching the story was." Trip had dropped his inhibitions around T'Pol long ago and pretty much felt as if he could speak freely. "Rose reminds me of you, you know," said Trip. He leaned towards her.  
  
"How so?" An eyebrow rose.  
  
Trip sucked on his bottom lip for a moment before responding.  
  
"Well," he said after a few seconds, "she's strong and smart and compassionate. She's also stubborn, witty and gracious."  
  
He leaned in closer so his mouth was a hair's breadth from her ear. "She's beautiful but doesn't know it, commanding yet soft-spoken."  
  
Trip's mouth was so close to her earlobe that he practically nibbled at it when he spoke. His fingertips caressed her jaw. "Did I mention drop-dead gorgeous?"  
  
"I believe the allusion was made."  
  
He moved closer, an arm slipping around her waist. "And then there's the whole betrothal-gone-bad thing."  
  
T'Pol nodded and leaned her head against Trip's. "I noticed that as well. She willingly broke her engagement, influenced by another man.  
  
"Exactly," replied Trip, slowly inching even closer.   
  
"She knew what she wanted and gave up her life as she knew it to fulfill her independence," T'Pol continued. "She found someone to share these new feelings with even at the behest of everyone around her."  
  
Trip turned his head towards her. "Sounds familiar, huh?"  
  
She leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "Very. However, I don't plan on losing you."  
  
He smiled and pulled her close. "Me neither, darlin'."  
  
FIN  
  
~*~*~  
  
AUTHOR NOTE: I think I just felt a few teeth fall out. Ouch. 


End file.
